Gravitation: Universal Force of Attraction

Gravitation

Definition: Gravitation is a universal force of attraction between two objects with mass or energy.

Key Concepts:

• Universal Gravitation: Every point mass attracts every other point mass by a force acting along the line intersecting both points.
• Gravity: The force of attraction between two objects with mass, typically observed on Earth as the force pulling objects towards the ground.
• Gravitational Field: A region around an object where the gravitational force can be detected.

Newton's Law of Universal Gravitation:

• Formula: F = G * (m1 * m2) / r^2, where:
  • F is the gravitational force between two objects
  • G is the gravitational constant (6.67408e-11 N m^2 kg^-2)
  • m1 and m2 are the masses of the two objects
  • r is the distance between the centers of the two objects
• Characteristics:
  • Always attractive, never repulsive
  • Dependent on mass and distance
  • Acts along the line connecting the centers of the two objects

Gravitational Force on Earth:

• g: The acceleration due to gravity on Earth's surface, approximately 9.8 m/s^2
• Weight: The force exerted on an object by gravity, dependent on its mass and g

Applications of Gravitation:

• Orbital Motion: The motion of celestial bodies, such as planets and satellites, around a central massive object
• Tides: The periodic rise and fall of sea levels due to the gravitational interaction between the Earth and other celestial bodies
• Gravitational Waves: Ripples in the fabric of spacetime, predicted by Einstein's theory of general relativity and detected in 2015

Gravitation

• Gravitation is a universal force of attraction between two objects with mass or energy.

Key Concepts

• Universal Gravitation: every point mass attracts every other point mass by a force acting along the line intersecting both points.
• Gravity: the force of attraction between two objects with mass, typically observed on Earth as the force pulling objects towards the ground.
• Gravitational Field: a region around an object where the gravitational force can be detected.

Newton's Law of Universal Gravitation

• Formula: F = G × (m1 × m2) / r^2
• G: the gravitational constant (6.67408e-11 N m^2 kg^-2)
• F: the gravitational force between two objects
• m1 and m2: the masses of the two objects
• r: the distance between the centers of the two objects
• Characteristics of Gravitational Force:
• Always attractive, never repulsive
• Dependent on mass and distance
• Acts along the line connecting the centers of the two objects

Gravitational Force on Earth

• g: the acceleration due to gravity on Earth's surface, approximately 9.8 m/s^2
• Weight: the force exerted on an object by gravity, dependent on its mass and g

Applications of Gravitation

• Orbital Motion: the motion of celestial bodies, such as planets and satellites, around a central massive object
• Tides: the periodic rise and fall of sea levels due to the gravitational interaction between the Earth and other celestial bodies
• Gravitational Waves: ripples in the fabric of spacetime, predicted by Einstein's theory of general relativity and detected in 2015